In its first addition since 2002, the Art Center's Sculpture Garden welcomes its newest work of art - "Return of Ancient Wisdom" is sculptor Leo Osborne's rendition of the Kemp's ridley turtle.

The first sculpture since 2002 to be added to Rockport Center for the Arts' Sculpture Garden is "Return of Ancient Wisdom" - a bronze cast from burlwood by nationally acclaimed sculptor Leo E. Osborne. Osborne's piece will be a welcome addition, as the Kemp's ridley sea turtle is of global and local significance. "Return of Ancient Wisdom" evokes the potential of art to raise awareness of our natural environment, and will be a permanent reminder of the ecological role of the Coastal Bend region.

The Art Center's newest sculpture is made possible by the generosity of the Thomas W. Moore family and The Margaret Sue Rust Foundation.

About the Ridley Turtle:

Padre Island National Seashore is the most important nesting beach in the U.S. for the Kemp's ridley, the most endangered sea turtle in the world. The National Seashore has been a participant in a bi-national, multi-agency effort to save the Kemp's ridley sea turtle since 1978.

The park also participates in global efforts to recover the populations of four other threatened and endangered sea turtle species. In cooperation with several partners, the park conducts an extensive program to detect nesting by Kemp's ridleys and other sea turtles. Staff and volunteers, up to 140 per year, patrol North Padre Island repeatedly each day searching for daytime nesting ridleys to protect the nesting turtles and their eggs.

About the Artist, Leo Osborne:

Living on the Pacific Coast with its wonderful vistas and horizons, Leo E. Osborne creates in painting and bronze using the inspiration of nature and color predominant to the Pacific Northwest.

Osbornes early training at New England School of Art in Boston, under the direction of painters from the Gloucester and Boston schools of painting gave him the understanding of paint as expressed by the American Impressionists. His living for 20 years in the Mid-coast of Maine furthered his development in the atmospheric paintings with fog, mist and cloudy skies. These coastal experiences equally influenced his sculpture, transpired through the animals depicted and the lyrical moods they express.

Exhibitions of his paintings and sculptures have been held locally and internationally over the last 30 years. He has received eight awards of excellence from the Society of Animal Artists and numerous other awards, including the silver medal from the National Sculpture Society. He has been invited for twelve years to exhibit at the prestigious Birds in Art exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum and his work is in private, corporate and museum collections.